Dănilă Prepeleac facts for kids
"Dănilă Prepeleac" is a famous fairy tale from Romania. It was written by Ion Creangă in 1876. The story is about a peasant named Dănilă. He starts off being a bit lazy and not very smart. But he learns to be clever and outsmart even devils! This tale is known for its funny language and interesting characters. It also shows themes from old Romanian stories. The story even inspired a movie in 1996.
What's in a Name?
The word Prepeleac is Romanian. It means a thin wooden pole or peg. These poles are used in the countryside. People use them to stack hay or to dry fresh pottery.
The story is named after its main character, Dănilă. His name Dănilă comes from the name Dan. It's like a nickname. The story says Prepeleac became his nickname. This was because adding a prepeleac was his only helpful act for his family.
The Story of Dănilă
The story of "Dănilă Prepeleac" has two main parts. It follows the adventures of Dănilă, who is the younger of two brothers.
Dănilă's Early Troubles
Dănilă is very different from his older brother. His brother is hardworking and has money. Dănilă, however, is poor, lazy, and often borrows things. His wife is smart and hardworking, unlike him. His older brother's wife is not very kind.
The older brother gets tired of always helping Dănilă. He tells Dănilă to sell his only valuable things: a pair of strong oxen. He suggests Dănilă use the money to buy smaller animals and a cart. Dănilă agrees and heads to the market.
On his way, Dănilă makes some very bad trades.
- His oxen struggle to climb a hill. He sells them for a new cart.
- The cart is hard to pull up another hill. He sells it for a goat.
- The goat keeps moving around too much. He sells it for a goose.
- The goose honks loudly and annoys him. He trades it for an empty bag.
Dănilă realizes he traded two oxen for nothing. He feels very sad and thinks bad luck followed him all day.
When he gets home, his brother is angry. Dănilă then asks to borrow a cart to collect firewood. In the forest, he carelessly chops down a tree. The tree falls on the cart and kills the oxen. Dănilă is now in even more trouble.
He tries to find his way out of the forest. He reaches a pond and tries to hunt birds. He throws his axe at them, but the axe falls into the water. Dănilă goes home. He tells his brother the oxen are stuck in mud. He asks for his brother's horse to pull them out. His brother refuses, saying Dănilă is not good at everyday life. He tells Dănilă to become a hermit instead.
Dănilă ignores his brother's advice. He steals his brother's horse. He goes back to the pond to find his axe.
Dănilă Meets the Devils
Back in the forest, Dănilă decides to build a small monastery. While cutting trees, he meets a devil who comes from the pond. The devil tries to scare Dănilă away. He says the pond and forest belong to Hell. But Dănilă is not scared.
The devil goes to Satan (called Scaraoschi in the story). Satan decides to give Dănilă a barrel full of coins. This is so Dănilă will leave the area. Dănilă wonders how to take the barrel home.
Satan's helper then challenges Dănilă to a contest of strength.
- Carrying Race: The junior devil carries the horse around the pond. Dănilă tricks him. He rides the horse around the pond. He then claims he was carrying the horse between his legs!
- Running Race: Dănilă says a sprint is too easy for him. He challenges the devil to race his "youngest child." This "child" is actually a rabbit. The devil tries to catch the rabbit but fails.
- Wrestling: Dănilă asks the devil to wrestle his "uncle," who is very old. He leads the devil into a bear's cave. The bear attacks the devil and defeats him.
- Shrieking Contest: The devil makes a loud shriek. Dănilă says he is not impressed. He warns the devil that his own shriek can destroy a brain. He tells the devil to cover his eyes and ears. Dănilă then hits the devil's head with a wooden beam. The devil thinks this is Dănilă's shriek and runs back to Hell.
Satan is angry. He sends another devil to challenge Dănilă.
- Mace Throwing: This devil throws a heavy club (a mace) so high it disappears for three days. Dănilă tricks him again. He says he will throw the mace to the Moon. He claims his "brothers" on the Moon need iron for their horses. The devil gets scared. He doesn't want to lose the mace, which is a family treasure. He quickly takes it back and runs into the water.
Finally, Satan sends his best soldiers to deal with Dănilă. Satan himself challenges Dănilă to a contest of curses. Satan goes first. He manages to make one of Dănilă's eyes pop out.
Dănilă then says he needs to go home for his own curses. He claims they are special curses passed down from his family. The devil carries Dănilă and his treasure back to Dănilă's house. Once there, Dănilă calls for his wife and children. He tells them to bring out the "curses." These are actually a dog-collar with spikes and iron combs. Dănilă's many young sons then jump on the devil. They scrape his skin with the combs. The devil is hurt and terrified. He disappears.
Dănilă is left to enjoy his treasure for the rest of his life.
